RELIGION
Lai attends annual prayer
President William Lai (賴清德) prayed for wisdom, courage and the ability to lead Taiwan and its citizens during this year’s National Prayer Breakfast yesterday. In his address at the event held in Taipei, Lai said that one of the three main duties he has prioritized as Taiwan’s leader is ensuring the nation’s survival and development in the face of threats from external totalitarian powers. The second is to protect the lives and property of Taiwanese as well as maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region as a contribution to the world, he added. The third is to take care of the lives of Taiwan’s 23 million citizens by developing not only the high-tech sector, but also small and medium-sized enterprises, and sharing the fruits of economic growth with the public, with special care for the vulnerable. Lai thanked the nation’s churches for the role that they have played in Taiwan’s transition and growth, adding that whether it be charity, education, medicine or spiritual growth, churches have been a spiritual backbone and provided stability for society. The government would keep working closely with churches to provide better care and opportunities for the public, he said. The National Prayer Breakfast in Taiwan, held annually since 2001, is jointly organized by various Christian church denominations and organizations.
Photo: CNA
TRAVEL
Passport rank down slightly
Taiwan’s passport is ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released yesterday showed. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports out of 227 globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Colombia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in August. Singapore has the top-ranked passport, with 195 visa-free destinations available to holders, followed by Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea, all tied at 192 destinations. Taiwan’s passport is tied with Peru at 34th. In the list’s first edition in 2006, Taiwan ranked 55th. It dropped to 69th in 2010, but has remained ranked in the 30s since 2015.
EARTHQUAKES
Series of earthquakes jolt Tainan
A series of earthquakes struck the southern Taiwan city of Tainan yesterday evening, including a magnitude 5.4 temblor, the strongest of the quakes, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).The epicenter of the magnitude 5.4 earthquake, which occurred at 8:40 pm, was located in Jiali District, 23.2 kilometers north of Tainan City Hall, at a depth of 7.7 kilometers, CWA data indicated.The quake’s intensity, which measures the actual effects of a seismic event, was highest in Tainan’s Jiali District (佳里), where it registered 5- on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale.The earthquake also registered a 4 in Chiayi and Yunlin counties, the CWA said.The magnitude 5.4 quake was preceded by two smaller earthquakes of magnitudes 4.0 and 3.0 at 6:45 pm and 8:22 pm, respectively, according to the CWA.Three more earthquakes followed later in the evening: a magnitude 3.5 temblor at 8:43 pm, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake at 8:43 pm and another magnitude 3.5 temblor at 9:19 pm. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries resulting from the quakes.
CRIME
Murderer to pay damages
A court in a civil proceeding on Thursday ruled that a Taiwanese man sentenced to life in prison in January for murdering a Malaysian student must pay more than NT$6 million (US$184,088) in compensation to the victim’s family. The Shilin District Court said that Chen Po-yen (陳柏諺) must pay NT$3,010,355 and NT$3,369,999 to the mother and father of the female university student he strangled to death, with interest to be calculated annually at 5 percent from August last year. The court’s ruling can be appealed. Chen, who was 30 at the time of the murder, is serving a life sentence for killing the female university student, identified by her surname, Chai (蔡), in Oct. 2022. The court found Chen guilty of murder in January, a verdict that was upheld by the High Court in June. Chen confessed to strangling Chai to death in her rented residence after she refused to return money he had given to her, the court said in January. Chai, who was aged 24 at the time of her death, was studying at a Taipei university and working as a part-time model and live streamer on social media, police said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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